


Is it the Look in Your Eyes?

by khasael



Series: Hale and Hearty [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Reveal, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out, Stilinski Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2018-01-17 19:03:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1399024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khasael/pseuds/khasael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is no stranger to fear.</p><p>But there's nothing else <i>quite</i> like the terror of knowing that, within a couple of hours, the sheriff of Beacon Hills will find out he's eloped with his eighteen-year-old son. In Las Vegas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is it the Look in Your Eyes?

Derek is no stranger to fear.

He's dealt with something like twenty different kinds of other supernatural creatures up to this point in his life, has been electrocuted _way_ more times than he'd like to remember, been shot, been stabbed, been poisoned, been actively hunted, been impaled, nearly been gutted, and almost drowned. He should have been dead a dozen times over, at the bare minimum. He's had people play on his weaknesses, both physical and emotional, in attempts to end him. 

But there's nothing else _quite_ like the terror of knowing that, within a couple of hours, the sheriff of Beacon Hills will find out he's eloped with his eighteen-year-old son. In Las Vegas. 

The man has wolfsbane bullets. Derek knows this for a fact. He also knows he's never used one before, but that doesn't mean there won't be a first time. 

At the moment, Stiles is trying to reassure Derek—again—that his dad won't immediately drop him to the ground upon hearing the news. But it's hard to entirely believe his statement, because Stiles himself has alternately been sort of worried about the same thing. Even if he hadn't tried to lie about it at one point, Derek can smell the sharp, sour scent of dread on him when Stiles thinks about it.

Stiles keeps saying he's sure that his dad will be okay with it, because his dad loves him. 

Derek's pretty sure that the sheriff's love for his son is _exactly_ why Derek isn't long for this world.

"Dude. If you're that freaked out, you don't have to be here. You can go hide in the woods, or even drive out of town," Stiles finally concedes almost an hour later. "I can tell him without you."

They've been arguing about this, just a little. While Derek wants to present a united front when they inform him of their recent activities, Stiles keeps edging towards the belief that his dad might take it better from him, without having to look at the face of the guy who's probably had recent sex with his son. And as much as Derek can see a kind of logic in that argument, he also really doesn't want to leave Stiles alone, in case it goes badly. 

"What if I just hang out upstairs while you tell him?" Derek finally asks, feeling more frustrated than he's expected to. "I can listen, and you can call me down when you're ready? And if you don't need me after all, I'll just let myself out without your dad knowing."

"What, through the window?" Stiles asks, rolling his eyes. There's a pause, while he looks at Derek for a while, and then he shrugs. "Okay." He offers up a crooked little grin. "Was this our first fight?"

Derek raises his eyebrows. "I guess?" It's not like it was _much_ of a fight, in any case, but he's sure those will probably happen some day. Stiles may feel like the best thing to ever happen to him—is likely _actually_ the best thing to happen to him—but Derek isn't under the illusion that they won't have a few rough days now and then. That kind of relationship only exists in fairy tales, which is _definitely_ not the track Derek's life is on. At least, not the Disney kind. Maybe the Grimms' kind. There's a lot of death and blood and unfairness in those. "Unless we count the one we had about you taking the cough syrup yesterday."

Stiles makes a face. "Dude. That shit tastes awful. Yeah, fine, I'll give you that it helped, but seriously, Robitussin is probably the least palatable commercial cough syrup in the world. If you ever end up having to pick up over-the-counter medicine again, please keep that in mind."

Derek wants to pout, just a little, but he settles for just leveling a mild look at Stiles instead. "I've never needed to even _look_ at anything in a pharmacy before, other than grabbing that giant first-aid kit I keep on hand for you." He's not entirely sure Stiles knows about that purchase of his, actually, since Scott's the one who's grabbed it out of the Camaro the two times they've needed it. Seriously, Stiles is worryingly accident-prone. "Do you have any idea how many cold and flu remedies are _in_ the drug store?" 

Derek had spent probably forty-five minutes scanning the boxes and bottles in the aisle, feeling like this was some sort of early relationship test he was utterly failing, some "can you care for your human?" competency exam. There were medicines that took care of one or two symptoms, but not all the ones Derek knew Stiles had, and others that were for the ones he did have, but also were for a half-dozen problems Stiles _didn't_ have, and no remedy seemed to have the right blend. In hindsight, he probably should have called, but he hadn't wanted to wake Stiles, if he was sleeping. He'd ended up asking the person at the pharmacy counter nearly a dozen questions, gruffly explaining that he'd never had the flu or a cold before, so he didn't know what he was looking for. She had given him a really weird look, but had at least helped him narrow some things down.

He hadn't thought to ask about taste, and apparently pharmacists didn't give any consideration to that, once they established you didn't need a children's formulation.

"Oh my God, you're adorable," Stiles says, which sort of makes Derek want to pout a little more, because he is a lot of things, but "adorable" is not on that list. Babies are adorable. Bunny rabbits and kittens are adorable. Full-grown male werewolves, who can rip things to shreds and take down threats, are _not_ adorable. 

His retort is preempted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, and Derek's already vaulting up the stairs when the sheriff's shoes hit the concrete. 

He might be a little ashamed of the way he sort of... hides, lurking behind the railing, out of sight, but that's between him and the banister. 

Even from here, Derek can smell the tension on Stiles. The sheriff walks in, sets something down, father and son greet each other, and Derek follows the sound of heavier footsteps into the kitchen, where they stop while someone rummages around in the refrigerator. Then they head back into the living room, and Stiles's heartbeat kicks up a notch.

"Have a good trip?" Stiles asks, failing pretty severely at sounding casual.

The sheriff seems to recognize it, too. "Not bad, for a work trip." His voice is even, but it's the cautious tone that Derek knows the man uses in his job, when there are answers to be had. He knows it, because he's been on the receiving end of that tone, back when Scott and Stiles got him arrested.

Yeah, no, he didn't see this whole marriage to Stiles thing happening back then. Not a chance.

"So, I, uh, have something to tell you," Stiles says after a minute. Derek shifts himself over, just a little, silent on his feet. Now he can see the two of them, and only Stiles might be able to see him, if he looks. Derek's got this 'hiding in the shadows' thing down pretty well. He might have practiced it a little, just to be able to scare the shit out of Scott and Stiles, back in the day.

Hey, a guy's got to have fun now and then, okay?

The sheriff raises his glass of apple juice, drains the last of it, and sets the glass on the coffee table. "You mentioned something like that in your text last night." He looks wary. "Given that the last few times you've said that, I've learned most of your friends were supernatural creatures, you've gotten suspended for pointing out that one of your teachers wasn't up to your standards of intelligence, you'd gotten involved in some sort of druidic rituals, you wanted to go to college out of the area, and you've come out as bisexual—which is by far the least concerning or surprising of that list, I'll remind you—forgive me if I'm not sure what to brace myself for." He takes a deep breath. "So, what sort of level of shock am I going to be receiving, here?"

Stiles fidgets and rubs the back of his neck. "Um. What if I told you I was sort of involved with one of said supernatural creatures? Like, romantically?"

Derek tries not to bang his head against the railing.

The sheriff's heart does a weird skipping thing, but smoothes out remarkably quickly. Maybe all that worry Stiles has for his dad's heart health is a little disproportionate. "Is Danny something supernatural, too, now?"

"What? No. He's human. And that's not who I mean." 

Derek can practically hear the sheriff ticking off names of his son's acquaintances on his mental list. "Tell me it's not someone I've brought in for questioning." Well, that's a mark against Derek. "Because that Isaac kid's okay, I guess, but I don't think he's good enough for you, son. You should be dating someone who'll be as good to you as you are to them."

"Uh. Right. Thanks. But, no, uh, it's not Isaac, either." Stiles clears his throat, which obviously has less to do with the flu he's caught and more to do with nerves. "And, uh, it's not exactly that I'm _dating_ someone..."

Derek can't exactly see the sheriff's face from here, but he has the feeling the man blanches, because Stiles is sort of making it sound like he's got a casual friends-with-benefits thing going on with someone in their group, and that's not generally the sort of thing Derek imagines parents really want to hear about. "Then out with it."

"Okay, so, while you were gone, I sort of went on a quick trip out of town, myself. And the end result of it is, I sort of... got married. To Derek."

"Not funny, son. What did you really want to tell me?"

Stiles takes a deep breath and looks straight at his father. "I'm serious. I married Derek." He raises his left hand and displays the wedding ring he's wearing. "Legally and everything." At least he doesn't sound so unsure, this time.

The two of them just stand there for a minute, and Derek can't get a read on the sheriff at all, other than surprise. It doesn't help that he can't see his face. He can see Stiles's face, though, and it's looking increasingly worried. "Dad? Say something?"

The sheriff clears his throat. "I've... got to go out for a while," is all he says, and then he just turns and heads for the front door. Derek hears the front door shut heavily behind the man, but his focus is on Stiles. Stiles, who's just standing there, eyes wide in shock. Frozen in place, Derek can hear the stress in his heartbeat, the shallow way he breathes after several seconds of not breathing at all. It's not panic attack territory, but something that might be better described as heartbreak.

Derek's just about to rush down the stairs, try to comfort Stiles and tell him it'll all be okay somehow, like he can actually make that sort of promise, when the door swings open again, and Derek aborts the mission. The sheriff strides up to Stiles with some force, and, much to Derek's surprise, wraps his arms tightly around his son. He holds him there for a few long seconds until Stiles hugs him back; mumbles something Derek doesn't catch, and walks back out of the house.

Once Derek hears the sound of an engine start up in the driveway, he figures it's safe to move. He hits the bottom of the stairs, where Stiles is still staring at the front door. "Stiles?" he asks, keeping his voice soft.

Stiles turns to face him, eyes bright with unshed tears. "Well," he says, voice cracking. "That probably could have gone better."

Derek pulls Stiles close, holding him tight while he rubs his back. "I'm sorry," he murmurs into the side of Stiles's head, feeling hot tears dampen the shoulder of his shirt. He feels awful, because Stiles shouldn't ever be hurt like this. Something in him wants to go after the sheriff, chase him down and corner him and let him know how very much _not_ okay it is to ever upset Stiles like this, but he knows it's a bad idea. This is something between father and son, something complex he doesn't quite understand, not something Derek can threaten and fix with ultimatums and growling. "I'm so sorry." After a minute, Derek holds Stiles out from him, wanting to get a good look at him. "Do you... regret what we did?"

And just like that, the scent of anger, sharp and hot, mingles with the sorrow. "What, are you fucking kidding me?" Stiles asks, eyes flashing. For just a second, Derek's mind gives him the image of beta-gold light from those usually soft brown eyes, an odd illusion, but one that fits. "No. If I regret any part of it, it's just that I couldn't have my dad and maybe Scott there, okay? But if you want to ask me again if I regret being together, being married, we are very definitely going to have an official fight, because I _don't_ , and I—"

"Hey," Derek interrupts, a little caught off-guard by the force of Stiles's response. He catches Stiles's hand and brings it up, nuzzling at it before he kisses the ring on his finger. "I won't ask again."

"Damn right you won't." Stiles's firm defiance flickers, and Derek catches the look of uncertainty that crosses his face before he speaks again. "And you don't...?"

"I don't regret it at all," Derek assures him. He wishes someone—anyone—would be happy for them instead of reacting the way they have, but he understands they're springing the news on everyone out of the blue. Laura would have been happy for him, he's sure. Cora might be, once he tells her. Peter.... Well, Peter's going to have a fucking _field day_ with this, probably. He thinks about springing the news on his mother, his alpha, and tries not to wince. She would have accepted it, Derek knows, would have eventually been happy he was happy, but the reveal would probably not have gone much better than the one with the sheriff just had. He replays the way the sheriff had stormed back in, had aggressively hugged his son before leaving again, and he thinks he understands. "And I think your dad will come around, eventually. Give him some time."

Stiles nods and leans his head against Derek's collarbone. "Yeah. All right."

\------***-------

It's just before midnight when Derek wakes up to the sound of someone pounding on his front door. He'd left Stiles alone around five, against every desire he had, because he'd figured it was probably for the best that he not be there when the sheriff decided to arrive back at home. It had been weird and uncomfortable to eat dinner alone, to lie on his couch without Stiles as a warm weight beside him, to have no one to provide snarky commentary to the movie Derek threw on to distract himself. They've only been married a few days, but Stiles has cemented himself in Derek's life within that time, burrowing under his skin with every touch, every kiss, every look, every laugh, to the point where Derek doesn't feel like he fits right within his own body without Stiles here.

It would be more concerning, if Derek hadn't heard his mother and Laura talk about this sort of thing, back when Derek was thirteen or fourteen. He'd thought that maybe it was a girl thing, then, but has learned otherwise now. And he wouldn't change it for anything, especially because he knows Stiles doesn't want to, either.

Derek shuffles to the door, and it isn't until he has his hand outstretched for the knob that he realizes who's on the other side. The scent's not overly familiar, but he knows it, has been briefly acquainted with it for years, now. "Sheriff Stilinski," he says, trying to appear as though his stomach hasn't just knotted up at the sight of the man before him. His nerves aren't helped at all by the fact that the man is in uniform, his holstered gun in plain view. Derek not-so-idly wonders if those are wolfsbane bullets or regular ones loaded into the magazine.

"Derek." There's a protracted pause as they sort of stare at each other, and Derek's not stupid enough to believe that it's not done purposefully, to make him uncomfortable. After a while, the sheriff seems to be satisfied. "We need to have a little talk. May I come in?"

Derek bites back on the first comment that comes to mind, which is "I'd rather we discuss this somewhere other than my living room, because you know a lot about crime scenes and how they should and shouldn't look." Instead, he nods. "Of course."

They stand awkwardly inside once the door is shut behind them, and Derek can't tell if he should offer the sheriff—his father-in-law, he realizes suddenly—something to drink, or invite him to sit down, or whatever other pleasantries people do when they have someone come to call. The sheriff, thankfully, appears to want to just get right to the point. "So. You married my son."

"Yes, sir."

"Three days ago. In Las Vegas. In a legally-binding ceremony."

"Yes."

"Without letting family and friends know about this life-altering decision."

"Yes."

"Without so much as even dating, first."

"Yes."

The sheriff pauses. Derek doesn't miss the way his thumb is rubbing at the leather strap that keeps the gun secure in his duty belt. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

Derek's throat is dry when he swallows, trying to find words—any words, really, because he doesn't think the 'right' ones exist. "I'm... not sure that I can."

The sheriff's eyebrows go up. That was definitely not the answer he was expecting. Derek has no idea what the man did expect, but that certainly wasn't it. "Well, then, would you like to at least tell me why this thing shouldn't just be annulled?" Derek can feel his eyes flash at that, but the sheriff doesn't even flinch. "You two could then just, I don’t know, date like normal people for a while before risking such a large mistake."

"It's not a mistake!" Derek snaps, and then immediately regrets the response. He takes a deep breath, looking at the floor. "It's not a mistake," he repeats after a moment, much more calmly. "I don't regret marrying Stiles. He doesn't regret marrying me."

"Are you sure about that?" 

Derek's chest tightens at that blow, but then he sees the expression on Stiles's face during the wedding vows, remembers the way he'd looked when he'd said he didn't want to go through with the annulment, the dozens of times he's looked over at Derek in the last few days, that awed sort of smile set crookedly on his mouth and the light in his eyes, and Derek raises his head to meet the sheriff's gaze. "Positive."

"Mm." The sheriff looks at him a moment more, as if he's calculating. "If you say so."

And that's it. That's just... no. Derek knows Stiles wouldn't have told his father something else. They may not have been together in any romantic sense for very long, but they've known each other for more than two years now, and Derek has been closer to Stiles than anyone else in the pack for quite a while. There's a level of trust they have that Derek's still almost surprised by, because trust is a thing he'd thought he was incapable of for a very long time. It was a thing he'd _actually_ been incapable of, really, until Stiles had somehow changed that, slowly and without any sort of deliberate method. He doesn't have faith in a lot of things, anymore, but he _does_ have faith in Stiles.

"Look, I know you think we've just rushed into something, been stupid and careless. Yeah, Stiles is young, but he's smarter than anyone else I know, intelligent and clever beyond that. And more importantly, he's _genuine_ in a way no one else I've ever known is. Underneath all that sarcasm and the smartass remarks, he's real and authentic. He's..." Derek falters. Stiles is a lot of things, some things Derek's only recently come to admit, and it feels like there are things about Stiles, about what he means to Derek, that are private and to be kept close, like some secret thing that others might want to take away. He wants to keep it all close to his chest, and then realizes that, in doing so, the sheriff might be more likely to want to take Stiles away from him, even if he can't actually do so.

"He's..." the sheriff prods, when Derek doesn't immediately continue.

"He's solid and keeps me grounded," Derek says, forcing the words out, trying to tell himself that opening up like this won't leave him vulnerable in a way that will prove fatal. "He's the only person I really trust. He challenges me and doesn't let me get away with bullshit, and, for some reason I still don't entirely understand, he believes in me. He makes me want to be worthy of that. And I swear to you, I never want to see him hurt, and I'll do anything I can to keep him safe and happy." Derek takes a deep breath. "And if you're going to shoot me, sir, please just do it quickly and get it over with."

"Do you want to know what Stiles said about you, when I asked him a similar set of questions?" 

The gentle tone of those words surprises Derek. "What?" It's all he can come up with, as he tries to get his brain on track with the new direction.

"You've told me, for all intents and purposes, what you love about my son. Would you like to know what he told me, when I asked him to explain why he's not going to be filing for an annulment tomorrow morning?"

Derek holds his breath for a moment, then nods. "Yes, I would."

The sheriff smirks. "Then ask him yourself. Tomorrow night, after dinner. Which you are attending, at our house, while the three of us go over the logistics of you two having an actual wedding ceremony in front of family and friends. Because it appears you are both exceptionally adamant that this marriage is sticking. So we're going to do it right, goddamn it."

"Sir?"

"You heard me, Derek. Dinner tomorrow, Stilinski household, six o'clock. You and Stiles cook, as a means of contrition." He heads for the door, while Derek just sort of trails after him, stunned. "And Derek?" he says, stepping through the threshold. "You might as well head to the house for the night and keep my son company. God knows he's awake, worrying about our interaction." He sighs. "And don't think I'm not aware Stiles will be spending nights here a lot. I don't want to think about details, but I'm just going to say that I won't be shocked to find you at our house in the mornings, either. You're family now. You pretty much belong there." 

He holds out his hand and Derek hesitates only for the smallest of moments before shaking it. "Thank you, sir." He waits until the sheriff is completely gone before picking up his phone and dialing Stiles's number, still not sure exactly what's just happened.

"Oh, thank God, you're alive," Stiles answers by way of greeting. "You're not bleeding out on your living room floor right now, are you?"

"No, I'm not bleeding out on my living room floor," Derek says, unable to keep the smile from his face. 

"Oh good, then he didn't shoot you. Wait, did he shoot you? Because you can heal and all, so that doesn't mean—"

"Stiles," Derek interrupts, before Stiles can really get going. "Your dad didn't shoot me. We just... talked." Well, Derek had, anyway.

"And how did it go?" Stiles asks, his voice kind of high.

"It went fine." Derek shrugs on his jacket and snags his keys. "I'm on my way over. For the night."

"You're what?"

"You heard me. And tomorrow afternoon, we're making a trip to the grocery store, because we're apparently making dinner."

Stiles hums thoughtfully. "Okay," he says, just as Derek slips into the Camaro. "I can think of something you two will both eat. That isn't pizza."

"Actually, I was thinking steak."

There's a pause on the other end of the phone. "Oh my God, he's gotten to you. You're compromised."

Derek snorts. "No, I'm not. But I'll be there in five minutes, and I expect you to find something for us to watch. Something stupid we can rip on until it's time for bed."

There's another pause, longer. "Hey, Derek?"

"Yeah, Stiles?"

"This marriage thing is totally going to work out."

Derek starts the car, a smile spreading across his face. He can hear the same smile in Stiles's voice. "Yeah. It is."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](http://khasael.tumblr.com/), if you want to come say hi!
> 
> ETA: The series is currently marked as complete, but there's actually quite a good chance I'll add at least another part or two to it in the future. I already have ideas for it--all that remains is finding the time!


End file.
